What We Do
We add a fun and philanthropic layer to November by awarding prizes for words written and funds raised. Prizes are donated by publishing industry professionals and other Mighty Pens.
Our mission is to raise $10,000 for our selected annual charity, bringing awareness to the issues that face our planet and our peoples!
We also want to encourage authors to finish their books! We line up our fundraising events and efforts with National Novel Writing Month every November. What is Nanowrimo? A worldwide collective event in which people try to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days! (They can also set other goals, such as editing a certain number of pages.) Professional authors send out pep talks, and local groups organize events for writers to meet and write together in person.
How the Mighty Pens Work
Basically, it’s just like people who run in races and have each mile sponsored, but we get the words we write sponsored instead!
- You’ll be instructed on how & when to make a fundraising page. In the meantime, you can join the Discord or follow us on social media! You should receive an invite link when you sign up to participate.
- Join NaNoWriMo. (This is only required to collect word count prizes.)
- Donate $10 to Nanowrimo, a 501(c)(3) charity in the United States. (This is only required if you want to claim fundraising prizes.)
- Starting on November 1, ask friends, colleagues, strangers—whomever!—to donate to your fundraising page. You can ask them to donate a certain amount at word goals you set, or they can donate whenever and however much they like. You can even donate in your OWN name!! See below for more information.
- When you hit certain fundraising and/or word count goals, you may win prizes!
Reminder: To be eligible for prizes, participants must donate an initial $10 to NaNoWriMo. - Write, keep track of your word count, join in the sprints, enjoy events and community, and help raise money for our charity!
For fairness, only donations made between November 1 and November 30 will count toward fundraising prizes!
We try to make participation as flexible as possible, so please ask questions on the Discord or by email if you’re confused.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you mean by “pledges” or “sponsors”?
We mean asking the people in your life — friends, family, colleagues — to sponsor your words!
For example, you might ask a sibling to donate $10 to our fundraiser. Or maybe your cubicle (or Zoom) neighbor at work can donate $1 for every 1,000 words. The monetary amount and word count are entirely up to you and them!
But don’t worry if you have no one to ask. Every year, we have extra sponsors to help out.
Can I participate even if I don’t raise much money?
Of course!! All that we ask is that you donate the initial $10 to NaNoWriMo. That enters you into tight-knit group of writers dedicated to awesome — a.k.a. the Mighty Pens.
If you don’t ever get any more donations than that initial $10, that’s totally okay. You’re still eligible for some of our super cool Writing Prizes and will be entered into the raffle!
Is the fundraiser worldwide?
Absolutely! Participants and volunteers can be located anywhere in the world. You might not be able to claim certain prizes, as industry professionals who offer prizes that require shipping pay for it themselves. But that would be the only difference!
Do I have to write 50,000 words?!
Heck no! You can set whatever goal you want to set for the month. Everyone writes at different paces, and we don’t want to exclude anyone because of that! That said, we do also offer cute incentives for helping reach your word count if you want motivation.
I’m not sure how to ask for sponsorship. Help?
We’ve got you covered! We’ll link here to more information as the time gets closer.
What kinds of prizes can I win?!
Check out the pages for Fundraising or Word Count. These pages should be updated as the campaign ramps up and more authors, agents, and editors hear about the effort, so keep your eye out!
How do I collect fundraising prizes?
After you officially join, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to set up your fundraising page after you initially sign up. Those instructions will also include a Discord invite link and more information about the Mighty Pens. You must set up a fundraising page to collect fundraising prizes, but if you get donations outside of November, they will not count towards your fundraising total. Don’t get us wrong, it’s still awesome, but donations before or after November do not count!
How do I collect word count prizes?
Unlike our fundraising prizes, you can collect writing prizes at any time in November! Once the page is live, we’ll share it! Make sure to keep your word count updated on the Google Form. You can update as often as you want!
Can I donate prizes or sponsor writers?
We’re always looking for more contributors. If you’re an author, agent, or editor, contact us or use this handy form. Contributions can be pretty much anything—bookmarks, signed books or signed series, critiques of pages or query letters, one-on-one Zoom chats, a silly video, an interview, deleted scenes from earlier books—the sky is the limit, and there’s nothing too big or too small. Let us know!
Want to sponsor a writer? Please contact us! Note that while donations before or after November are of course going to a great cause, they will not help a writer get more prizes.
How do I get involved in the community?
The community is the best part! After you sign up, you’ll get an email with a link to our Discord server. We’ve got lots of community activities planned there, but joining is totally optional. It’s also a great place to get advice for fundraising or prompts for writing if you’re feeling stuck with either.
If you don’t join the server, be sure to check out our Sprint Schedule (coming soon!) to write with fellow Mighty Pens! Or set up your own sprints with #TheMightyPens hashtag!
Finally, keep your eye on the News & Updates page for the latest happenings, we’ve got big ideas for the new website that are still in the works!